Two Attempted Lynchings in Shomron

A resident of Shavei Shomron who was returning home on Tuesday night was confronted at the entrance to the community by a violent Palestinian riot. The riots attacked him and damaged his car as well.

Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honeinu organization filed an urgent complaint with police about the incident, demanding prosecution of the assailants.

H., the victim of the attack, said that when he arrived that night at Shavei Shomron he found the entrance blocked by the rioters. As soon as they identified him as a Jew, they began to beat him and smash his car.

He described the harrowing experience: “When I came to the intersection to turn into the community, I saw Palestinian flags, and the road was blocked by a large gathering of Arabs. I also speak Arabic, so I got out of the car, went over and spoke with them, and began taking pictures.

“The moment they discovered I was Jewish, the situation changed completely. They started to push and pummel me with their fists. When I realized the danger I was in, I got back into my car and locked myself in. I wanted to escape. But they began hitting the car and pushing it back and forth, in all directions.”

H. then called for help from the security forces, and it took them not a short amount of time to bring the rioters under control. Even after they launched stun grenades at them, they continued to climb on my car and rock it back and forth. It took the soldiers about half an hour to quell the riot, he said.

B’chasdei shamayim, he suffered only bruises from the attack, though his vehicle was badly damaged.

In another incident, on Wednesday, two Jews were arrested after opening fire on a mob of stone-throwing Arabs who attempted to kill them in Ofra, in the Binyamin region.

The Jews were released from custody after posting bail only after an interrogation lasting several hours, during which they maintained that they opened fire, aiming into the air, only in self-defense, and when they believed their lives were in danger.

During the protracted questioning, Jews from the area staged a protest outside the police station, demanding that the two men be released and that the police should instead take action against the terrorists.

Their lawyer, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that “there was no justification to arrest these men in the first place. We demand that the police locate and arrest today all the stone-throwers who participated in this attempted murder of Jews.”

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